thank you everyone who reviewed! Especially those who gave constructive criticism. Again, it's my second fanfic (and the first I hope to complete) so I really appreciate it when you give me advice (low flames) I hope this chapter is longer. And I typed this on my iPad so if something is spelt wrong, it's probably autocorrect :D I'm posting this chapter early in celebration of my friend downloading The Mark of Athena on iBooks! Yay!

LEO

Dang it, Leo thought. They had just lost two of the best demigods in the world just because of a stupid fortune cookie he had broken. Even though Leo didn't know the Percy guy that well, he could tell that he was very powerful and knew his stuff (even if he was joking around sometimes). But could that be enough for them to survive in Tartarus?

Then came the matter of Annabeth. She had gone through pain, hardship, creepy spider ladies and who knows what to save the big, weird statue that would bring peace (hmm). And now she had basically given all her hard work away to them and sacrificed herself. And now, if anything happened to the Argo II and Leo wasn't there, it was practically doomed. No one else other than Leo and Annabeth knew how to operate the warship (perhaps maybe Buford, he's in love with the ship).

And now to make things even worse. They probably couldn't travel on water, even though the panda dude, Frank, had a teeny-weeny bit of Poseidon or Neptune (whatever!) in him. Still didn't really help. Annabeth was smart. If they were stuck in some sort of impossible situation, the Owl-Brain wouldn't be there to generate a genius plan. The next smartest person was probably Jason, but he was too serious to think outside of the box. Piper - well, she could pretty much get her way in anything. The Nico kid was cool, but he had changed; like something had scarred him forever. Creepy. Hazel and Frank were just...Hazel and Frank. They were good fighters and definitely very strong. That leaves you, little Leo, a voice whispered in his head. Leo assumed it was probably Dirt Lady. Their fate all depends on you. You're very smart with your hands - ah, yes - but great power comes with bad luck. But you know that already, of course. Your fire power is greater than that fortune cookie. A bigger price to pay...I like this. But no matter, for you will die soon...yes. Another great sacrifice to add to our collection. Join us, and perhaps you may get to see your friends again - in Tatarus, she added, cackling at the thought, Leo shivered. Tartarus - not even the gods would go there.

"No," Leo muttered. "There has to be another way to do this."

Looking on the bright side, perhaps things had to happen that way. The Doors of Death had to be closed on both sides. So someone had to go to Tartarus anyway. And it's the two most powerful demigods, that couldn't be a coincidence. Maybe the gods accidentally left some good people in there - they could help Percy and Annabeth. Who knows.

Leo looked around. Frank looked like the world had just been yanked under him. Piper and Jason sat together, talking about something. It didn't look like they cared that much. Coach Hedge kept pacing around and muttering. Nico was in deep discussion with Hazel, obviously talking Underworld stuff. The only thing that hadn't changed was the Argo II that was still as awesome as ever - Leo was considering to spray paint "SWAG" on the side. But Leo had a feeling Hazel would have no idea what that meant, considering she was from the 1940's or something like that.

Time passed quickly. Everyone was in a bad mood and the sky was darkening quickly. For the first time in his life, Leo decided they urgently needed a plan.

"Guys, we have to stop acting like those sad meme faces. You all sorta look like that Poker Face one. But anyway, we need a plan." Leo said, breaking the silence.

"Meme faces?" Hazel asked incredulously "What's that-"

"Not important." Nico put in. "I'll tell you later. But Leo's right. We can't be still moping over this. The best we can do is to save them."

"So tell us what to do, Death Boy." Jason said almost sarcastically. The others didn't seem to catch it.

"Nico, now you're just jinxing us." Piper said nervously. "Don't say stuff like that. Plus, we seriously need to stock up on nectar and ambrosia - we're running dangerously low."

"And what about your camp - uh, what was it called again? Camp Blood? Camp Half-Blood? Do we have to warn them about, uhh, the attack?"

"Oh, gods." Piper cursed. "The camp! How could I be so stupid and forget about it - "

"We can iris-message them," Leo suggested.

"They would need help," Piper put in. "We saw Camp Jupiter. Its like over twice the size! No, we have to think of something else." Her voice was so powerful that everyone began nodding, like Piper was soooo right, but Jason didn't seem to be affected. Maybe it was because he got used to it, what being Piper's boyfriend. After all, having a charmspeaking girlfriend was pretty dangerous.

"Even better - we can send off the statue to Camp Half-Blood and maybe it'll do something," Jason said, looking at Nico expectantly.

"Well then," Nico said dryly, "hurry up this ship. We need someone to carry the statue to Camp - we don't have enough time - but other than that, I know where the House of Hades is, but how many monsters there are I do not know. I can lead you to the mortal entrance of the Doors of Death but thats it. You guys can-"

"Why not?" Hazel interrupted. "I just got you back. You're the underworld expert. I - We need you," she said.

Nico just shook his head. "I'm not part of the seven. I'm just here to help you guys and to keep my promise to Percy. I can't interfere with the prophecy. It clearly says Seven half-bloods shall answer the call, not Eight half-bloods shall answer the call, right Hazel?"

Hazel didn't answer. Leo assumed that she had pretty much lived her whole second life (more like chance) following Nico's "Guide to a Second Life". She would probably be pretty shaken up if he wasn't around to tell her what to do.

There was a very awkward silence following after. No one seemed to know what to say, especially Jason and Leo himself who had hurt Hazel after doubting her brother's loyalties.

"Tempest probably couldn't carry a statue that big. We'll have to find..." Jason seemed lost for words.

Everybody laughed, and Leo walked off. Next time he saw Nemesis, he would make sure she would pay. Because, after everything he had gone through, he decided that he would not let his enemies get away from him that easily. They'd get a taste of Leo Style. And that lady was definitely gonna get it this time. The problem was, would he get a change to see Nemesis again?

Review and let me know how I did :) by the way, meme faces are like those faces all over facebook - troll, pokerface, lol, forever alone, etc.